North Korea INTERNAL SECURITY
A soldier and his child by the Tower of Chuch'e, P'yongyang
Courtesy Tracy Woodward
Social Control
The forty-five years since the founding of the DPRK have
witnessed the construction of a system of totalitarian control
unique even when compared to the communist systems in the former
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The population of North Korea is
rigidly controlled. Individual rights are subordinate to the
rights of the state and party. The regime uses education, mass
mobilization, persuasion, and coercion to guarantee political and
social conformity
(see Chuch'e and Contemporary Social Values
, ch. 2;
Political Ideology: The Role of Chuch'e, ch. 4).
Massive propaganda and political indoctrination are reinforced by
extensive police and public security forces.
The regime's control mechanisms are quite extensive. Security
ratings are established for individuals and influence access to
employment, schools, medical facilities, stores, admission to the
KWP, and so on. The system in its most elaborate form consists of
three general groupings and fifty-one subcategories. Over time,
however, the use of subcategories has diminished.
The population is divided into a core class, the basic
masses, and the "impure class." The core class, which includes
those with revolutionary lineage, makes up approximately 20 to 25
percent of the population. The basic masses--primarily workers
and peasants--account for around 50 percent. The impure class
consists of descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators,
landowners, or those with relatives who have defected. In the
past, restraints on the impure class were strict, but as time has
passed they have been relaxed, although the core class continues
to receive preferential treatment. Nonetheless, by the 1980s even
a member of the impure class could become a party member
(see The Korean Workers' Party
, ch. 4).
Since the late 1950s, all households have been organized into
people's neighborhood units. The units, originally called the
five-family system, consist of about 100 individuals living in
close proximity. The ward people's committee selects the people's
neighborhood unit chief, generally from pensioners in the unit.
Meetings are held once a month or as necessary. The primary
function of the ward people's committee is social control and
propagation of the chuch'e ideology.
There are five categories of social control: residence,
travel, employment, clothing and food, and family life. Change of
residence is possible only with party approval. Those who move
without a permit are not eligible for food rations or housing
allotments and are subject to criminal prosecution. Travel is
controlled by the Ministry of Public Security, and a travel pass
is necessary. Travel on other than official business is limited
strictly to attending family functions, and obtaining approval
normally is a long and complicated process. The ration system
does not recognize individuals while they are traveling, which
further curtails movement. Employment is governed by the party,
with assignments made on the basis of political reliability and
family background. A change in employment is made at the party's
convenience.
Data as of June 1993
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